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Rustin Parr
Rustin Parr (? - November 22, 1941) was a serial killer from the 1940s who murdered seven children in Burkittsville, Maryland on the supposed "instructions" of the Blair Witch. Life Rustin Parr lived on a mountain near Burkittsville as a hermit. According to those who encountered him, he was amicable though reserved, helping hikers and those lost. He was abused by his uncle and sought to leave for a quieter life, building a three story house in the woods. By all accounts, he lived there happily, and loved nature. A few years after his self imposed exile, he began to notice a woman in black during his long walks in the woods. He never saw her face, and she always vanished when he called out to her or tried to approach. He didn't feel any fear from her initially. By the late 1930's Rustin noticed that the animals around him that were previously used to his presence were becoming more fearful of him and his house. He heard strange noises in the night, scaring him so much he became an insomniac. He came to fear the woman and began to see her in his dreams when he did sleep. She would order him to carry out pointless orders like sleeping in the basement and he always obeyed. At first he rationalised it as effects of his paranoia and insomnia but he gradually became more deluded. Townsfolk said he had become more suspicious of people and his appearances more infrequent. One day the woman ordered him to go into town and take the first group of children he found. The Massacre of the Burkittsville Seven In late 1940, Parr abducting eight children from town - with promises of candy - and took them to his mountain house in the woods. He brought the kids down in pairs to his basement; he had one stand in the corner while he killed the first child by disembowling them and carving symbols into their skin with knives. For reasons unknown, he did not kill one child, Kyle Brody. He would then repeat the same process with the corner child. Brody was forced to face another corner while Parr slaughtered the other seven, including Brody's friend, Emily Hollands. One night in 1941, the spirit of the witch came to him in his sleep, telling him that his work was complete, and that she would leave him alone if he went into town and told them of his crime. Parr released Brody, and came into town and declared that he was "finally finished." Police searched his house and found the bodies of the seven kids. Kyle Brody was the only one who survived. The event tore the town apart. Trial and execution On July 17, 1941, Parr was tried in court on seven counts of first-degree murder. He confessed to all seven murders, not knowing the names of the children. Parr expressed his apologies to the parents of the deceased and said nothing in his defense, though he agreed with his attorney to plead insanity. Kyle Brody testified that Parr was the one responsible for the killings, and the jury came back with a guity verdict, resulting in an outbreak of applause in the courtroom. Parr later claimed he was doing what an old lady ghost told him to do. Rustin Parr was hanged on November 22, 1941. Parr, Rustin Parr, Rustin